Apr 16, 2013

Just keep breathing (#TT109)


I woke up to another tragedy today, 16/04/2013 - explosions in Boston. It really upsets me when this kind of thing happens. It's like, where is humanity?
But we all have to realize that whether 'big' or 'small', crimes take place EVERYWHERE in the world and every morning when we wake up, someone may have lost their loved ones in a terrible way.



To all victims and families who were affected by ANY tragedies in this world, just keep breathing. I'll keep all of you in my thoughts and prayers.


To all who passed away, may you rest in peace. You're in a better world now.


Pray for the world. Be kind to one another. Let's make this world a better place to live in. 

xo, Jo


Apr 11, 2013

Homecoming of my favorites! (#TT108)

Let’s see those who are back!! I’m SO excited!

Ms. Lavigne is back baby!!!! So excited for her new album!!

FOB! Uh oh! Love the song but the video..not so much. It’s kinda gross :/


Oh yeahhh RJA! I’ve missed them so much! This video covers the entire EP :)

Also, last month I posted Demi’s Heart Attack and I’ve found that other ex-Disney stars are back in the music industry as well. I’ve never been a fan of any of them (I like Demi though), but I guess it’s worth to listen since the theme of the post is homecoming, baby!

Last homecoming queen!

Kinda disappointed with this song. Nicole’s voice is so powerful and this song just doesn’t show that AT ALL. I don’t think this style suits her.

That’s all for the homecoming kings and queens of music!

Let’s end this post with the latest music video of Paramore!

The hair gurlll the hairrr. Hayley looks like a doll :3

Take care!

xo, Jo

Apr 7, 2013

Laneige Free Sample Review

Hi lovelies!


So today I’m gonna do a review of some of Laneige product samples that I’ve been using for a week now. I’ve been hearing positive reviews about their moisturizer that is “water-like” and great for dry skin, but never really got the chance to actually buy it. So when the promoter girl passed me a redeemable card for free samples, my heart screamed for joy.

Laneige is a Korean beauty brand that stresses on the use of water science to help women to achieve the radiant and dewy skin that they have always longed for. “Laneige” itself means “snow” in French and they have been studying water science technology to find the “best water” to give women the optimized moisture that they need.

This brand sort of reminds me of Biotherm and other products that have recently come up with aqua or water-based gel-like moisturizer. Anyways, let’s get to the first product!

Laneige Water Sleeping Pack
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This was the first product I’ve tried and I was fairly pleased with it. As the name suggests, this is a sleeping mask. I applied it after moisturizer before I slept. The texture is gel-like but more to watery side, so it’s not that thick, which feels very light to the skin and you won’t feel like you’re wearing a mask.

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The next morning my face felt hydrated and I didn’t get itchy or red blotches at all (which I normally get from wearing a mask) – proving that it’s good for sensitive skin. I expected my skin to be somewhat smooth by the morning though, but this didn’t give that effect. However after washing my face, my skin felt kind of firmer.

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What I didn’t really like from this product is the smell. I wish it was fragrance-free.

Next!

Laneige Snow BB Soothing Cushion SPF50+
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When I first opened this product I got a little confused because there are 2 sponges and I was like “what I’m supposed to do with the other one?” lol. So this “cushion” concept is quite unique. It is purposely designed like that so you get just the right amount of product to apply to your skin. Below the “cushion” there’s only a little bit of product, I don’t know because this is only a sample size, but basically the cushion has absorbed most of the BB cream.

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You can either apply it with your bare fingers or using the white sponge. For me I prefer to use my fingers as the sponge will absorb the product even more. So you just need to press the cushion and the product comes out in a fair amount. The consistency is very light, easy to blend, and absorbs to your skin really quickly.

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I got it in No.21, “Natural Beige” which is apparently matches my skin tone pretty well. I’d say if you want a good coverage, you may need to apply two or more coats by which I couldn’t do since the scent is way WAY TOO strong. It’s like I’m wearing perfume on my face. I got pretty dizzy by the fragrance and needed 3-4 hours for it to go away.

Next and last!

Laneige White Plus Renew Original Essence
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Ok, so this may be the very first whitening product that I’ve ever used. I never really looked for any whitening/brightening products before, since I had no issues in that department, BUT just recently I noticed there’s a small dark patch on my right upper cheekbone. I was panicked (and still am)!!! It’s not very dark but still noticeably darker than other areas of my whole face. I still don’t know what may be the cause and that is why I was willing to try this whitening serum.

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Did I mention that this is my first serum as well? Well, it is and thus I had no idea how to use it *blushes*. “Is it after moisturizer?” “Is it after toner?” After some quick research I found out that it should be applied right after using toner. So I did, and followed by my usual moisturizer.

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It’s like watery lotion, I needed to pat my face for a few minutes until the serum penetrated through my skin. It’s quite disappointing to say that AGAIN this Laneige product has too strong scent. I had trouble sleeping because the fragrance just bothered me. I only apply this at night since in the morning I already have a handful of products to apply on my face. I have to say that it gives me a plump feeling to my face, which I quite like. I didn’t notice any changes after several times of using it which I think is normal since for serums, you need to apply it regularly over a longer period to see the results.

FINAL VERDICT:

Laneige Water Sleeping Pack
  • Comparable to Clinique Moisture Surge (which I can’t live without)
  • Hydrating but nothing fantastic
  • Scented – a turn-off
  • Will I purchase? Mayyyybe.
Laneige Snow BB Soothing Cushion SPF50+
  • Moisturizing
  • Smooth and light coverage, giving natural look
  • Strongly scented – major turn-off
  • Will I purchase? As long as the strong scent is still there, I won’t. If it was fragrance-free or at least lightly scented, I probably would.
Laneige White Plus Renew Original Essence
  • Doesn’t do much on brightening (in a span of a week)
  • Not drying skin out
  • Will I purchase? Most probably not.

To sum up, I think Laneige does a fairly good job in hydration (although I haven’t tried their whole range of products), but the scent just bothers me too much. Please note that I mostly use fragrance-free and lightly scented products, so you may have a different opinion if you try their products. Maybe one way to measure my sensitivity towards scented products is to use Lancome as a reference. I think Lancome skincare products are quite heavy on their fragrance as well.

So there you have it!

Have you tried any of Laneige products before?

xo, Jo

Apr 4, 2013

Mainstream vs Underground (#TT107)

Late TT post!

I’ve been super busy lately with work, and thus slacking in blogging. Sigh.. I wish I had more free time!

I guess I’ll do “mainstream vs underground” theme more often in the future, because my music playlist is literally a combination of the two =) Talking about music, do check out this cool and funny web series on YouTube created by The Fine Bros: MyMusic! It’s about seeing different music genres described in actual individual personality haha. It’s hilarious!

Mainstream of the week:

Akon!!! He’s alive!!! LOL
Yo Sanchezzzz! Looking forward to hearing other songs in her album!

 

Underground of the week:

Discovered this gem from a YouTube fashion guru, FashionRocksMySocks
Introduced this unique song from boyfie =P

Which song(s) do you like?

Hope you’re having a fantastic week!

#truth LOL

Other good examples: (new) Paramore, Forever The Sickest Kids, (latest) Simple Plan, (new) VersaEmerge. Basically every genre is mixed with pop nowadays :p

xo, Jo